Stratification And Social Classes In America

Revolutionary Stratification in America Stratification and social classes can be found in the earliest of societies around the world. Throughout history, these divisions of society can be caused by a variety of factors, and can shape a nation or destroy it. In urban, but mainly rural societies, early stratification has played a large part in revolutionary overthrows of the upper classes by the oppressed. In present-day America, stratification can be seen dominating society and can be categorized by capital and labor. These social classes found in our society are slowly becoming more and more distinguished between the upper and lower classes, causing the question to rise: Is America headed towards a class revolution? Kelley and Klein’s (1977)
theory of Stratification in a Post-revolutionary Society and mathematical model proving their findings deals with an overthrown society in which the peasants have revolted against the elitists. The control revolution must meet the following conditions: (1) a dominant government/administration seizes all production of capital from the peasants, and (2) the revolution has delivered the peasants from their exploitation by “destroying the old elite’s economic privileges, reducing taxes, and redistributing land” (Kelley and Klein 76). According to Kelley and Klein, when a revolution of classes occurs, they first predict that in the short run, the peasants will be better off and the cause of the revolution, social inequality, decreases. Also, equal distribution of capital will be produced, making human capital a more valuable source. However, “ a revolution does not immediately benefit the poorest of its supporters as much as it benefits those who possess human capital or have been able to retain physical capital” (Kelly and Klein 77). In the long run, peasants still benefit, but the revolution will provide opportunities that will give advantage to those with education, ability, knowledge, or technical skills, causing educational and economic inequality to grow. Kelley and Klein’s (1977) research gave way to the threat of revolution to our society. As their theory suggests, revolution between classes happens when the dominating government controls means of production and happens within an unhappy distribution of wealth. In Social Class in North American Urban History, Michael Katz (1971) researched the aspect of social classes in American history. His theory deducted that American stratification is based upon two great factors, capital and labor, and “major components of stratification- wealth, occupation, ethnicity, age, and sex-will be related” (Katz 587). As a capitalist society, he viewed America to possess these two classes because of the common bond linking them together: private ownership of material goods and capital, and the selling of their labor as a property. Hand in hand with capitalism are the business and working class. To compare and contrast the working class and business class, Katz conducted a research in which he grouped participants based on their occupations - “masters and skilled wage workers” (Katz 591). His findings proved the working class was larger than the business class, however the business class as a whole contained the nations wealth. One of the main factors in history of the transformation of the human race is the act of revolution through the overthrow of the higher classes by the poor and oppressed.
Many of these revolutions have occurred in agrarian and unsophisticated societies where the working class is treated poorly by the aristocrats. Much of mankind has lived in these conditions, causing revolutions of classes to be inescapable (Burke 1971; Klein 1969). In the past, local chiefs and landlords have been overpowered and ejected from their positions when the working class has risen up against them. These large-scale revolutions can be seen throughout history, but have increased in number as society modernizes [e.g. in the Peloponnese in 227B.C., England in 1381, France in 1789, Mexico in 1910, Russia in 1917, China beginning in 1921, Bolivia in 1952, and Cuba in 1958] (Kelley and Klein
78). Stratification and social classes, as mentioned by the working class and aristocrats above, are essentially the root of all revolutions. The lack of freedoms given to the lower class and abused by the upper class provides the means and motive to rise up against the inequality. Other factors can be involved as Kelly and Klein (1977) state, such as a dominant government taking total control of land, forced labor, or unfair taxation. The Bolivian and Mexican revolutions, for example, were initiated by the government’s seizure of land which effected the “region’s small farmers” (Kelly and Klein 97). If revolutions can occur over certain inequalities and stratification, how soon will it be until America experiences another one? The American Revolution was based on wanting independence from a powerful and controlling country. Yet now, the roles have been reversed and America is the leading country in the world with class problems of its own. While the upper class get more than what most Americans will ever see in their lifetime, the middle class, which includes most of Americans, are getting just enough to provide for their families, and the working and lower classes struggle to survive. Like many other countries, the two major stratifications in America are capital and labor (Katz 579). However, some minor differences from early history’s class system to recent America’s include: education, skills, language, ability, and other kinds of human capital. Kelley and Klein (1977) state that these will eventually lead to inequality. Stratification and social classes have always been a part of America since the foundation.
Katz describes that class, as a term, “appears often in North American history” (583). Examples are “discussions of the role of the working class in Jacksonian politics; the existence of an upper class in the late nineteenth century; the role of the middle class in social reform; and the degree of social mobility between the working and the middle class” (Haskell 1977; Katz 584). In the last example, class is usually structured around white collar/blue collar which is perceived in many other writings on inequality as well. Race and gender can also be seen as an inequality of stratification in today’s
country. The misconception in America that stratification and class are the same words can be easily confusing. “Misunderstanding its essential characteristics, social scientists have confused class with stratification, using the two interchangeably and carelessly” (Kurtz 580). Class is a concept that relates to the social order divided by material possessions. Stratification however, may be divided by however seems necessary, such as: income, population, and occupation. Although much of history deals with class systems, these factors of stratification cause the same amount of inequality as social classes do. In the past, the owners of production had all the material possessions, while the working class had none. Similarly, those in America with the higher income have more material possessions than those who receive a lower income. The social classes may have changed, but stratification in America is the same as the countries who were overthrown by inequalities similar to ours. References

Katz, Michael B. "Social Class in North American Urban History." The Journal of Interdisciplinary History 11.4 (1981): 579-605.
Kelley, Jonathan, and Herbert S. Klein. "Revolution and the Rebirth of Inequality: A Theory of Stratification in Postrevolutionary
Society." The American Journal of Sociology 83.1 (1977): 78-99.